Despite drought, new water supplies are developing in the Rio Grande Valley

Despite drought, new water supplies are developing in the Rio Grande Valley Posted on April 15, 2026

It's a time of great change in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV)-communities across the region are experiencing incredible growth, but the prolonged drought is stressing the area's primary source of water, the Rio Grande. Residents in the Valley are mobilizing their resources and aligning on potential solutions to overcome the challenge.

For example, the judges for Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr, and Willacy Counties-with the support of the North American Development Bank-formed the Advisory Committee for the RGV Water Management Study. The committee is composed of technical experts and water users who will help identify infrastructure projects that advance water diversification and conservation throughout the Valley.

Meanwhile, several communities are already developing new sources of water for their residents and businesses-and the Texas Water Development Board is providing financial assistance to help bring the projects to fruition.

North Alamo Water Supply Corporation

The North Alamo Water Supply Corporation (NAWSC) is located in Edinburg and provides potable water and wastewater utility service to rural residents of eastern Hidalgo County, Willacy County, and northwestern Cameron County. NAWSC is planning to desalinate brackish groundwater to provide new supply for its customers.

NAWSC has conducted a feasibility study to find cost-effective ways to reduce the energy requirements and costs of groundwater desalination, which will help facilitate expansion of its existing brackish groundwater treatment plants. Currently, the corporation has completed its pilot study to verify the projected performance of the proposed technology and has collected data to inform the design and permitting of production facilities. As part of this project, NAWSC is also planning to construct three new groundwater wells and associated transmission facilities and install new nanofiltration treatment technology in its system.

Sharyland Water Supply Corporation

The Sharyland Water Supply Corporation is located in Mission and provides drinking water to the rural communities in and around the cities of Mission, McAllen, and Edinburg.

Like North Alamo Water Supply Corporation, Sharyland Water Supply Corporation is looking to tap brackish groundwater as a new source of drinking water for its customers. The corporation is in the planning phase of this project and is working to drill three test wells near its existing water treatment plants. The purpose of the test wells is to evaluate groundwater quality, identify water yield zones, and assess the presence of contaminants. The data collected will be used to determine the best locations for production wells and influence the design of a future treatment facility.

City of McAllen

The City of McAllen is also leveraging brackish groundwater as a resilient and diversified water source to help meet future demand. McAllen plans to construct a brackish groundwater desalination plant and associated infrastructure at its existing North Water Treatment Plant. When completed, the project will consist of six wells and a new reverse osmosis desalination facility with capacity to treat 6 million gallons per day-and a design that can accommodate future expansion to 10 million gallons per day.

Laguna Madre Water District

Meanwhile, a bit farther down the Rio Grande, the Laguna Madre Water District (LMWD) serves the communities of South Padre Island, Port Isabel, Long Island Village, Laguna Heights, and Laguna Vista. Without factoring the impacts of drought conditions, water demands are already exceeding supply due to the growth of the communities in its service area.

Like Sharyland, North Alamo, and McAllen, LMWD is planning to leverage desalination to provide new water supply-but LMWD will be desalinating seawater instead of groundwater. LMWD plans to construct a new 5 million-gallon-per-day seawater reverse osmosis plant adjacent to its existing water treatment plant in Port Isabel. And, in 2019, the LMWD wastewater treatment plant in Port Isabel was upgraded to accommodate future effluent and concentrate flows from the desalination plant. The district already has a successful pilot plant and is working on finalizing the permitting and environmental assessment of the production system.

Brownsville Public Utilities Board

The Brownsville Public Utilities Board (BPUB) has plans to create new drinking water supply through a reuse project. The city's potable reuse strategy will treat the reclaimed water from the Robindale Wastewater Treatment Plant with microfiltration, reverse osmosis, and advanced oxidation. BPUB also plans to construct a new pump station to send the reclaimed water to an existing water treatment plant before it is distributed to the community. BPUB is in the planning phase of the project, and it will require approval from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality before implementation. When completed, the city stands to gain up to 8 million gallons per day of new water supply.

Hidalgo County Drainage District No. 1

Finally, Hidalgo County Drainage District No. 1 serves the residents of Hidalgo County by proactively managing the county's drainage system and plans to turn that drainage water into drinking water. The district's strategy is to construct three off-channel ring dikes in northeastern Hidalgo County to capture tailwaters and precipitation runoff and use advanced water treatment-including micro-filtration and reverse osmosis-to treat and distribute a portion of the runoff to people and businesses in the community.

These six projects are key components for diversifying water supplies in the Rio Grande Valley, and the TWDB is proud to work with communities across the region to help secure their water future. Learn more on the TWDB website about the Rio Grande Regional Water Planning Group (Region M) and other potential water management strategies and projects for the area.

This article is posted in Water Planning / Financial Assistance / Technology / Drought / Water Supply / Groundwater .